An Islamist hacker collective that some experts are labelling as a Russian front has launched numerous, advanced cyber-attacks against Israel and other countries, according to an article from Bloomberg published late last month.
The hacker group, known as “Anonymous Sudan” claims that according to the article, that it acts to stage cyber attacks from Africa against in defense of oppressed Muslims around the globe.
Experts in cybersecurity, however, Bloomberg reports, are suggesting the group is not what it claims to be. Instead, the experts suggest, the hacktivist group is actually based in Russia and operates in the interests of the Russian government.
The hacker collective targets Israel
Of the targets Anonymous Sudan has chosen, Israel features prominently. According to Bloomberg, in early April the group states that was going after Check Point Software Technologies Ltd., an Israeli cybersecurity firm.
The next day, the hacker group again threatened Israel, reportedly stating that it would “greatly intensify” its attacks on the Jewish state due to violence between Israeli police and Palestinian rioters on the Temple Mount.
A man types into a keyboard during the Def Con hacker convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. (credit: REUTERS/STEVE MARCUS)Bloomberg cites Check Point’s chief of staff, Gil Messing who reportedly noted that the hacker group had launched hundreds of cyber-attacks against numerous Israeli targets including news organizations, government, and military as well universities, banks, and communication and tech companies.
The hacker group also reportedly targeted electronic warning systems designed to give Israelis notice regarding incoming rocket attacks.
Reasons to suspect the hacker group is a Russian front
The Bloomberg report listed several reasons for the belief that Anonymous Sudan could actually be working for the Kremlin.
For instance, according to the report, cyber-attacks from the hacktivist group against Israel increased after news broke that Israel had sent Ukraine military equipment including advanced radar systems.
Additionally, Bloomberg reports that the hacker collective’s attacks, such as those against Israel, have been particularly potent and advanced, more so than previous cyber-assaults encountered by the Middle Eastern Jewish state.
In fact, Bloomberg notes that cyber-attacks from the group have correlated with “geopolitical flare-ups” in countries opposed to Russia.
Furthermore, Anonymous Sudan has spoken out in support of the Russian government.
“The Russian army must defeat this rebellion,” the group wrote on Telegram according to Bloomberg during the brief Wagner mutiny.
“Anonymous Sudan is a Russian information operation that aims to use its Islamic credentials to be an advocate for closer cooperation between Russia and the Islamic world,” Mattias Wåhlén, Stockholm-based threat intelligence expert, told Bloomberg. “[The hacktivist group is] always claiming that Russia is the Muslims’ friend.”
Wåhlén also told Bloomberg the Anonymous Sudan has doggedly pursued emphasizing the message that the West and Islam are enemies while Russia is Islam’s friend.
Anonymous Sudan, in response to the allegations that it is a Russian operation, has repeatedly denied the claims.
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